The arms race of outside spending in the midterm election for governor just went nuclear.

Flush with cash from a recent Greenwich fundraising reception with Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Governors Association late last week pumped $1.25 million into the race through a nascent super PAC to fund a TV ad blitz against Republican Tom Foley.

The Connecticut Forward super PAC bought nine hours of air time through November on WFSB and WTNH -- two of the four major network affiliates in the state -- at a cost of nearly $840,000, new filings with the Federal Communications Commission show.

A chunk of that advertising block, which amounts to nearly 1,100 TV spots of 30 seconds, is in prime time.

The group's first ad, released over the weekend and titled "You've Failed," shows Foley blaming workers and the first selectman of the eastern Connecticut town of Sprague for the impending closure of a local paper mill during a news conference gone awry last month.

While it claimed to have no knowledge of the strategy or actions of independent groups such as Connecticut Forward, the DGA acknowledged that it's going to throw the kitchen sink at Foley to aid incumbent Dannel P. Malloy.

"At the DGA, we will do everything in our power to ensure voters understand that erratic Republican millionaire Tom Foley's anti-middle class policies would reverse the progress Connecticut's made under Governor Malloy's strong leadership," Danny Kanner, a DGA spokesman in Washington, D.C., told Hearst Connecticut Media.

Foley did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Hearst on Monday.

The Greenwich private equity manager and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland chose the backdrop of Fusion Paperboard in Sprague for a July 28 public appearance hammering Malloy on his stewardship of Connecticut's economy, which he said is losing businesses.

But Foley could not extricate himself from an awkward exchange with locals, who blamed the paper mill's closing on the profit-driven private equity firm that runs the company and likened it to Foley's prior ownership of a Georgia textile manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy.

A July 27 New York Times /CBS News poll showed Foley leading Malloy by 9 points in a rematch of their 2010 contest, which was decided by 6,400 votes statewide.

Political operatives on both sides have set up super PACs to accept unlimited contributions and help Malloy and Foley, who are bound by candidate spending limits under Connecticut's taxpayer-financed election system.

The Republican Governors Association gave $250,000 to a rival super PAC known as Grow Connecticut Inc., which spent $193,000 Aug. 14 on television ads saying Malloy broke his promises to fix the economy and create jobs.

"I can tell you the RGA sees this as a very competitive race and a prime pick-up opportunity for Republicans," RGA spokesman Jon Thompson told Hearst Monday. "We will absolutely be investing more in the race so voters know about Dan Malloy's record of failed leadership and why Tom Foley is the right candidate right now to reboot Connecticut's economy and put the state back on the right path."

Malloy's re-election campaign and the state Democratic Party declined to comment. Both have made a concerted effort to try to keep their distance from super PACs and 527 groups so as not to run afoul of state election laws restricting candidates and parties from coordinating with outside groups.

State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. called the infusion of cash from the DGA and the ad blitz an act of desperation that cannot make up for the economic shortcomings of the state under Malloy.

"So they need to dump a pile of money in here to protect him," Labriola said. "And without a positive record to run on, all of the money will be spent slinging mud at Tom Foley."